Category: Real Estate

Welcome to the April edition of the PFM restaurant and food retail commercial real estate listings. This monthly column gathers in one convenient place current and soon to be available spaces in Portland that could be potential sites for restaurants and food producers to locate their next business. Finding just the right spot is one of the crucial early challenges in launching a new restaurant, bar, bakery, coffee shop or food retail business and hopefully this new resource will make it a little bit easier.

The retail and restaurant spaces are organized by neighborhood, and contains square footage, cost, location, background info on prior usage, whether for lease or sale, and a link to the full listing online where you can see all the details. Storefronts that were formerly a restaurant are indicated in the description and those likely already have a hood and grease traps.

Listings that are new or have been updated since last month are flagged with an red asterisks (*).

785 Congress St – a newly renovated 1,378 sq ft space near Bramhall Square is available for lease at $17.42 per sq ft (MG). It’s located on the same side of the street as Roma Cafe and Flood’s, the restaurant Greg Mitchell is developing at The Francis.

207 Danforth St – the former Eco-Laundry space on Danforth Street next to Little Giant has been unoccupied for a couple years and is for lease directly by the business owner.

101 York St – a 5,249 sq ft sub-dividable space in the new building on the corner of York and High Street is available for $20/sq ft (NNN). The space already has a hood vent and grease traps installed.

Arts District

477 Congress St – The first floor mall in the Time & Temperature Building was the longtime home of Whip’s Right Time Cafe. The Cafe closed a few years a go and now this 1,750 sq ft space is available for $13/sq ft (MG).

480 Congress St – 3,513 – 7,213 sq ft space available for $26/sq ft (NNN). This space had been slated be a BBQ restaurant that that project is not moving forward in this space.

600 Congress St – The Schwartz Building has been under construction for a while now, and during that time a number of restaurateurs have checked out the space. As one of the best positioned, most visible corners in the city it seems destined to become a restaurant some day. The property owner is Geoffrey Rice.

654 Congress St – the former Ocho Burrito in the Lafayette Apartment Building has remained vacant since 2016.

660 Congress St – a potential food retail space is available in the renovated Queen Anne style building in Longfellow Square. The 1,575 sq ft space is for lease at $24/sq ft (MG).

Bayside

148 Anderson St – this 9,600 sq ft building in East Bayside is located next to Tandem Coffee. The building is zoned for light industrial so a brewery or distillery with a tasting room would fit the zoning parameters but a restaurant would not. The building is available for $12/sq ft (NNN). The building has a drive-in door and comes with 15-20 parking spaces.

166 Cumberland Ave – this had been slated to become the reincarnation of Uncle Billy’s Barbecue. The project never came to fruition and the storefront, formerly Bayside Variety, remains in the hands of the business partner of Uncle Billy and my understanding is he’s looking for a new partner to work with on a restaurant in the space.

171 Cumberland Ave – Ten Ten Pié closed earlier this month and their 1,100 sq ft space is now available for lease direct from the owner for $2,000/month (MG).

82 Hanover St – there are a number of spaces available in the redevelopment of this former Department of Public Works building ranging in size from 1,488 to 7,050 sq ft at $16 – 20/sq ft (NNN). A country western bar called The Whiskey Barrel is already slated to be one of the businesses in this building.

195 Lancaster St – this 3,008 sq ft building is located at the intersection of Lancaster and Elm Streets. It is available for $18/sq ft (NNN).

191 Marginal Way – 2,206 – 4,406 sq ft of space in this new building at $29.95/sq ft (NNN).

Old Port

1 Commercial St – the original location of Benkay at the corner of Commercial and India Streets is available. The 2,494 sq ft is for lease at $35/sq ft (NNN).

5 Commercial St – the former Rosemont Market at the corner of Commercial and India Streets is available. The 1,914 sq ft is for lease at $35/sq ft (NNN).

100 Commercial St – the 3,688 sq ft space formerly occupied by K Colette is available for lease at $37.50/sq ft (MG). It is located in the Thomas Block building which is also home to Solo Italiano.

305 Commercial St – a 1,987 sq ft space in the Baxter Place building is available for $25/sq ft (MG). The space is immediately adjacent to the Courtyard Marriott.

229 Congress St – Ramen Suzukiya went out of business in late 2018. the 900 sq ft space is now available for lease at $35/sq ft (MG).

98 Cross St – A 2,000 sq ft on the back side of the building that’s the Free St Arabica Coffee is available to lease for $19.75 per square foot (MG).

75 Market/157 Middle St – Portland Trading Company has moved around the corner to 83 Market Street which will free up their 2,025 sq ft space for $27.95/sq ft (MG). It’s one of 4 spaces available at this address. In total there’s 1,071 – 6,356 sq ft for lease.

1 Monument Square – The owners of 1 Monument Square have a large first floor space available for a restaurant. 4,385 sq ft for lease at $25/sq ft (NNN). You can see some artist sketches of what a restaurant in this spot could look like in the full listing.

47-51 Wharf St – 2 different spaces are available across Wharf Street from the Independent Ice Company, 1,170 and 2,070 sq ft, both for lease at $25-30/sq ft (MG).

1 Union Wharf – a 5,608 sq ft space on the first floor of a new building slated for Commercial Street is available for $20.95/sq ft (NNN).

*865 Forest Ave – this 11,362 sq ft building has had a long history as a restaurant and music venue (who remember’s Raoul’s). The building and .84 acres of land are for sale for $1,210,000.

1207 Forest Ave – the 4,296 sq ft former Wok Inn in Morrill’s Corner is for lease at $16.29/sq ft (NNN). The 1.32 acre property has its own parking.

Other

170 Brighton Ave – the former 7-11 building at the corner of Brighton and Saint John Street is for sale for $550,000. The building is 2,173 sq ft in size and comes with onsite parking spaces.

*439 Congress St – the former home of sandwich shop and a cafe, this 1,000 sq ft space is available for $20/sq ft (MG).

1335 Congress St – the longtime home of Espo’s Trattoria is for sale at $899,000. The 5,500 sq ft building comes with 10 parking spaces.

*132 Marginal Way – this 2,300 sq ft space is located across the street from Trader Joe’s. It’s available for $23/sq ft (NNN).

*25 Portland St – this 550 sq ft retail space is located down the street from Isa and Back Bay Grill. It’s available for $1,100 (MG).

*34 Portland St – this 3,724 3-story building is adjacent to the Maine Oyster Company. It’s available for $3,500 (NNN). According to the listing, “Currently a glass blowing operation, the building currently has hood systems in place on various levels.”

*100 Portland St – this 500 sq ft retail space is adjacent to Bayside American Cafe. It’s available for $1,200 per month (MG).

377 Saint John St – the former Aunt Dee’s Cafe is for sale. The asking price is $400,000.

46 Veranda St – the 600 sq ft building that currently is home to the East Deering location of Union Bagel is for sale for $500,000.

Glossary

MG – Modified Gross which indicates that the operating expenses (taxes, insurance, maintenance, etc.) for the property are included in the lease rate. The tenant would pay its own utilities, which sometimes includes heat.

NNN – Triple Net which indicates that operating expenses are not included in the lease rate, and the tenant will pay them separately. They are often referred to as CAM (Common Area Maintenance) charges and taxes, which are expressed as $/sf. The tenant is also responsible for utilities.

Gross – Gross indicates all expenses including utilities are included in the lease rate. The tenant would be responsible for phone and internet access, as well as interior janitorial.

Welcome to the March edition of the PFM restaurant and food retail commercial real estate listings. This monthly column gathers in one convenient place current and soon to be available spaces in Portland that could be potential sites for restaurants and food producers to locate their next business. Finding just the right spot is one of the crucial early challenges in launching a new restaurant, bar, bakery, coffee shop or food retail business and hopefully this new resource will make it a little bit easier.

The retail and restaurant spaces are organized by neighborhood, and contains square footage, cost, location, background info on prior usage, whether for lease or sale, and a link to the full listing online where you can see all the details. Storefronts that were formerly a restaurant are indicated in the description and those likely already have a hood and grease traps.

Listings that are new or have been updated since last month are flagged with an asterisks (*).

785 Congress St – a newly renovated 1,378 sq ft space near Bramhall Square is available for lease at $17.42 per sq ft (MG). It’s located on the same side of the street as Roma Cafe and Flood’s, the restaurant Greg Mitchell is developing at The Francis.

207 Danforth St – the former Eco-Laundry space on Danforth Street next to Little Giant has been unoccupied for a couple years and is for lease directly by the business owner.

*64 Pine St – the former Aurora Provisions building sold at Auction in early January. The 4,629 sq ft building is now available for lease for $7,000/month (MG).

*101 York St – a 5,249 sq ft sub-dividable space in the new building on the corner of York and High Street is available for $20/sq ft (NNN). The space already has a hood vent and grease traps installed.

Arts District

477 Congress St – The first floor mall in the Time & Temperature Building was the longtime home of Whip’s Right Time Cafe. The Cafe closed a few years a go and now this 1,750 sq ft space is available for $13/sq ft (MG).

480 Congress St – 3,513 – 7,213 sq ft space available for $26/sq ft (NNN). This space had been slated be a BBQ restaurant that that project is not moving forward in this space.

600 Congress St – The Schwartz Building has been under construction for a while now, and during that time a number of restaurateurs have checked out the space. As one of the best positioned, most visible corners in the city it seems destined to become a restaurant some day. The property owner is Geoffrey Rice.

654 Congress St – the former Ocho Burrito in the Lafayette Apartment Building has remained vacant since 2016.

*660 Congress St – a potential food retail space is available in the renovated Queen Anne style building in Longfellow Square. The 1,575 sq ft space is for lease at $24/sq ft (MG).

Bayside

*148 Anderson St – this 9,600 sq ft building in East Bayside is located next Tandem Coffee. The building is zoned for light industrial so a brewery or distillery with a tasting room would fit the zoning parameters but a restaurant would not. The building is available for $12/sq ft (NNN). The building has a drive-in door and comes with 15-20 parking spaces.

166 Cumberland Ave – this had been slated to become the reincarnation of Uncle Billy’s Barbecue. The project never came to fruition and the storefront, formerly Bayside Variety, remains in the hands of the business partner of Uncle Billy and my understanding is he’s looking for a new partner to work with on a restaurant in the space.

*171 Cumberland Ave – Ten Ten Pié closed earlier this month and their 1,100 sq ft space is now available for lease direct from the owner for $2,000/month (MG).

82 Hanover St – there are a number of spaces available in the redevelopment of this former Department of Public Works building ranging in size from 1,488 to 7,050 sq ft at $16 – 20/sq ft (NNN). A country western bar called The Whiskey Barrel is already slated to be one of the businesses in this building.

195 Lancaster St – this 3,008 sq ft building is located at the intersection of Lancaster and Elm Streets. It is available for $18/sq ft (NNN).

191 Marginal Way – 2,206 – 4,406 sq ft of space in this new building at $29.95/sq ft (NNN).

Old Port

1 Commercial St – the original location of Benkay at the corner of Commercial and India Streets is available. The 2,494 sq ft is for lease at $35/sq ft (NNN).

5 Commercial St – the former Rosemont Market at the corner of Commercial and India Streets is available. The 1,914 sq ft is for lease at $35/sq ft (NNN).

100 Commercial St – the 3,688 sq ft space formerly occupied by K Colette is available for lease at $37.50/sq ft (MG). It is located in the Thomas Block building which is also home to Solo Italiano.

305 Commercial St – a 1,987 sq ft space in the Baxter Place building is available for $25/sq ft (MG). The space is immediately adjacent to the Courtyard Marriott.

229 Congress St – Ramen Suzukiya went out of business in late 2018. the 900 sq ft space is now available for lease at $35/sq ft (MG).

*98 Cross St – A 2,000 sq ft on the back side of the building that’s the Free St Arabica Coffee is available to lease for $19.75 per square foot (MG).

75 Market/157 Middle St – Portland Trading Company has moved around the corner to 83 Market Street which will free up their 2,025 sq ft space for $27.95/sq ft (MG). It’s one of 4 spaces available at this address. In total there’s 1,071 – 6,356 sq ft for lease.

1 Monument Square – The owners of 1 Monument Square have a large first floor space available for a restaurant. 4,385 sq ft for lease at $25/sq ft (NNN). You can see some artist sketches of what a restaurant in this spot could look like in the full listing.

47-51 Wharf St – 2 different spaces are available across Wharf Street from the Independent Ice Company, 1,170 and 2,070 sq ft, both for lease at $25-30/sq ft (MG).

1 Union Wharf – a 5,608 sq ft space on the first floor of a new building slated for Commercial Street is available for $20.95/sq ft (NNN).

561 Forest Ave – the Portland branch of Juiced closed late in 2018. 561 Forest Ave is diagonally across the intersection with Ashmont Street from The Great Lost Bear. The 2,760 sq ft space is not yet listed but presumably available.

1053 Forest Ave – the 1,200 sq ft former Papa John’s building on Forest Ave is available at $18/sq ft (NNN).

502 Stevens Ave – Ice It Bakery recently shut down the retail side of their business and as a result their store front on Stevens Ave is available. 772 sq ft for lease at $22.50/sq ft (NNN).

170 Brighton Ave – the former 7-11 building at the corner of Brighton and Saint John Street is for sale for $550,000. The building is 2,173 sq ft in size and comes with onsite parking spaces.

1335 Congress St – the longtime home of Espo’s Trattoria is for sale at $899,000. The 5,500 sq ft building comes with 10 parking spaces.

*280 Saint John St – 2 spaces are available in the Union Station Plaza. The 4,400 and 2,600 sq ft spaces are available for $8/sq ft (NNN) and $12/sq ft (NNN) respectively.

377 Saint John St – the former Aunt Dee’s Cafe is for sale. The asking price is $400,000.

*46 Veranda St – the 600 sq ft building that currently is home to the East Deering location of Union Bagel is for sale for $500,000.

1363 Washington Ave – the former Sala Thai building which was converted to a Taco Bell in 2016 is for sale for $1,250,000, and can be leased for $96,000 per year (NNN).

Glossary

MG – Modified Gross which indicates that the operating expenses (taxes, insurance, maintenance, etc.) for the property are included in the lease rate. The tenant would pay its own utilities, which sometimes includes heat.

NNN – Triple Net which indicates that operating expenses are not included in the lease rate, and the tenant will pay them separately. They are often referred to as CAM (Common Area Maintenance) charges and taxes, which are expressed as $/sf. The tenant is also responsible for utilities.

Gross – Gross indicates all expenses including utilities are included in the lease rate. The tenant would be responsible for phone and internet access, as well as interior janitorial.

I’m pleased to introduce the new Portland Food Map restaurant and food retail commercial real estate listings. This column will gather in one convenient place current and soon to be available spaces in Portland that could be potential sites for restaurants and food producers to locate their next business.

I’d like to thank Portland Food Map’s newest sponsor, The Boulos Company, for their help and generous support to make this new feature possible as a public service to the community. The column will include listing of Boulos properties as well as those of other commercial realtors and developers. Finding just the right spot is one of the crucial early challenges in launching a new restaurant, bar, bakery, coffee shop or food retail business and hopefully this new resource will make it a little bit easier.

The retail and restaurant spaces are organized by neighborhood, and contains square footage, cost, location, background info on prior usage, whether for lease or sale, and a link to the full listing online where you can see all the details. Storefronts that were formerly a restaurant are indicated in the description and those likely already have a hood and grease traps.

785 Congress St – a newly renovated 1,378 sq ft space near Bramhall Square is available for lease at $17.42 per sq ft (MG). It’s located on the same side of the street as Roma Cafe and Flood’s, the restaurant Greg Mitchell is developing in The Francis.

953 Congress St – located at the corner of Congress and Saint John Streets, this was the longtime location of Dogfish Cafe. Rossana’s Ice Cream occupies it now and the store front will become available when Rosanna’s goes out of business at the end of February.

207 Danforth St – the former Eco-Laundry space on Danforth Street next to Little Giant has been unoccupied for a couple years and is for lease directly by the business owner.

64 Pine St – the former Aurora Provisions building sold at Auction in early January to real estate developer Tom Landry. Landry has indicated in a Press Herald interview that he wanted to “ensure that the property’s new owner would replace Aurora, a West End fixture that opened in 1997, with a similar type of business”.

101 York St – a large 15,000 sq ft space (which is sub-dividable to 2,500 sq ft) in the new building on the corner of York and High Street is available for $15-20/sq ft (NNN).

600 Congress St – The Schwartz Building has been under construction for a while now, and during that time a number of restaurateurs have checked out the space. As one of the best positioned, most visible corners in the city it seems destined to become a restaurant some day. The property owner is Geoffrey Rice.

642 Congress St – 1,208 – 2,569 sq ft in the Lafayette Apartment building is available for lease at $18/sq ft. The building is near Longfellow Square and the State Theater and is home to the Bearded Lady and Sagamore Hill.

654 Congress St – the former Ocho Burrito in the Lafayette Apartment Building has remained vacant since 2016.

Bayside

166 Cumberland Ave – this had been slated to become the reincarnation of Uncle Billy’s Barbecue. The project never came to fruition and the storefront, formerly Bayside Variety, remains in the hands of the business partner of Uncle Billy and my understanding is he’s looking for a new partner to work with on a restaurant in the space.

82 Hanover St – there are a number of spaces available in the redevelopment of this former Department of Public Works building ranging in size from 1,488 to 7,050 sq ft at $16 – 20/sq ft (NNN). A country western bar called The Whiskey Barrel is already slated to be one of the businesses in this building.

191 Marginal Way – 2,206 – 4,406 sq ft of space in this new building at $29.95/sq ft (NNN).

Old Port

Canal Plaza – The oval-shaped glass building in Canal plaza is available for lease. 1,350 square feet at $55/sqft (NNN). It’s an interesting structure, and I hope one day to walk around the corner and see a cocktail bar or cafe with outdoor seating in the plaza.

1 Commercial St – the original location of Benkay at the corner of Commercial and India Streets is available. The 2,494 sq ft is for lease at $35/sq ft (NNN).

5 Commercial St – the former Rosemont Market at the corner of Commercial and India Streets is available. The 1,914 sq ft is for lease at $35/sq ft (NNN).

100 Commercial St – the 3,688 sq ft space formerly occupied by K Colette is available for lease at $37.50/sq ft (MG). It is located in the Thomas Block building which is also home to Solo Italiano.

305 Commercial St – a 1,987 sq ft space in the Baxter Place building is available for $25/sq ft (MG). The space is immediately adjacent to the Courtyard Marriott.

229 Congress St – Ramen Suzukiya went out of business in late 2018. the 900 sq ft space is now available for lease at $35/sq ft (MG).

477 Congress St – The first floor mall in the Time & Temperature Building was the longtime home of Whip’s Right Time Cafe. The Cafe closed a few years a go and now this 1,750 sq ft space is available for $13/sq ft (MG).

480 Congress St – 3,513 – 7,213 sq ft space available for $26/sq ft (NNN). This space had been slated be a BBQ restaurant that that project is not moving forward in this space.

98 Cross St – the space formerly occupied by Rhum and an additional retail space on the same side of the J.B. Brown-owned building. The former Rhum space (Suite A) is 3,800 sq ft, and the other store front (Suite D) is 2,000 sq ft. They’re available to lease at $22,50 and $19.75 per square foot (MG).

75 Market/157 Middle St – Portland Trading Company is moving around the corner to 83 Market Street which will free up their 2,025 sq ft space for $27.95/sq ft (MG). It’s one of 4 spaces available at this address. In total there’s 1,071 – 6,356 sq ft for lease.

1 Monument Square – The owners of 1 Monument Square have a large first floor space available for a restaurant. 4,385 sq ft for lease at $25/sq ft (NNN). You can see some artist sketches of what a restaurant in this spot could look like in the full listing.

51 Wharf St – 2 different spaces are available across Wharf Street from the Independent Ice Company, 1,170 and 2,070 sq ft, both for lease at $25-30/sq ft (MG).

1 Union Wharf – a 5,608 sq ft space on the first floor of a new building slated for Commercial Street is available for $20.95/sq ft (NNN).

Deering

502 Stevens Ave – Ice It Bakery recently shut down the retail side of their business and as a result their store front on Stevens Ave is available. 772 sq ft for lease at $22.50/sq ft (NNN).

170 Brighton Ave – the former 7-11 building at the corner of Brighton and Saint John Street is for sale for $550,000. The building is 2,173 sq ft in size and comes with onsite parking spaces.

1217 Congress St – This former gas station, located adjacent to Tony’s Donut Shop is for sale for $799,000. A number of Portland eateries, like Tandem Bakery and Otto in South Portland, are located in former gas stations.

1335 Congress St – the longtime home of Espo’s Trattoria is for sale at $899,000. The 5,500 sq ft building comes with 10 parking spaces.

377 Saint John St – the former Aunt Dee’s Cafe is for sale. The asking price is $400,000.

1363 Washington Ave – the former Sala Thai building which was converted to a Taco Bell in 2016 is for sale for $1,250,000, and can be leased for $96,000 per year (NNN).

561 Forest Ave – the Portland branch of Juiced closed late in 2018. 561 Forest Ave is diagonally across the intersection with Ashmont Street from The Great Lost Bear. The 2,760 sq ft space is not yet listed but presumably available.

1053 Forest Ave – the 1,200 sq ft former Papa John’s building on Forest Ave is available at $18/sq ft (NNN).

MG – Modified Gross which indicates that the operating expenses (taxes, insurance, maintenance, etc.) for the property are included in the lease rate. The tenant would pay its own utilities, which sometimes includes heat.

NNN – Triple Net which indicates that operating expenses are not included in the lease rate, and the tenant will pay them separately. They are often referred to as CAM (Common Area Maintenance) charges and taxes, which are expressed as $/sf. The tenant is also responsible for utilities.

Gross – Gross indicates all expenses including utilities are included in the lease rate. The tenant would be responsible for phone and internet access, as well as interior janitorial.

There are 20+ restaurants and other food-related businesses currently under development in Portland and new ventures are being announced all the time. The demand for vacant restaurants and retail space remains quite high. So, once again, I’ve put together this list of retail spaces to help out anyone who’s searching for real estate to get their new venture off the ground.

If there are any good spots I’ve overlooked give a shout out in the comments or email me at anestes@portlandfoodmap.com and I’ll add them to the list.

13 Exchange St—until very recently 13 Exchange Street was occupied by the Old Port House of Jerky.

34 Exchange St—until late last year this was the location of JL Coombs.

57 Exchange St—Country Noel is located in the basement space on the corner of Exchange and Middle. They’re closing at the end of January.

90 Exchange St—this restaurant space had been occupied by Thai 9, before that it has been a succession of establishments: Little Seoul, Greek Corner, Bandol and Rachel’s.

363 Fore St—over the last couple years this space was a Dunkin Donuts and then an Orange Leaf franchise. It would be nice to see this store front on the corner of Fore and Market occupied by a local business rather than yet another national chain.

420 Fore St—this is the former home of Joe’s NY Pizza which went out of business after a fire broke out in the building a couple years ago.

455 Fore St—right on the corner of Fore and Union Streets, this space used to house Gingko Blue.

465 Fore St—for a few month last year this was a vegan juice bar called Liquid M2; it’s adjacent to Dean’s Sweets and across the street from Miyake.

24 Free St—across from Sur Lie, this was the original home of Sapporo in 1985.

50 Middle St—there are plans are to develop the remainder of the lot that used to be the home of the Jordan Meat plant which will include 12,500 square feet of retail space. Hugo’s, Eventide, Duckfat, Eat Ender and Miccuci’s are all right in the immediate vicinity.

151 Middle St—this listing on Loopnet indicates that both the Bull Moose and Videoport spaces are both for lease.

15 Monument Square—This was the location of the Portland branch of Wannawaf for a season, prior to that it had been the home of Cobblestones.

11 Temple St—this is the former Minot’s Flower Shop on the corner of Temple and Federal Streets.

Widgery Wharf—a new construction project on Commercial Street that includes a 5,175 sq ft restaurant space.

Art District

604 Congress St—this space was formerly a thrift store. It’s currently under construction along with the rest of the Schwatz Building. It’s immediately adjacent to the Down Town Lounge and across from the State Theater.

660 Congress St—the Queen Anne style building was the first space Roxanne Quimby originally bought to house her artist colony. The last business to operate there was Zinnia’s Antiques. A developer is now renovating the building; a retail space is planned for the first floor.

First floor of the Schwartz Building—the building at the intersection of High and Congress is still under construction. Once it’s finished the corner space on the first floor could be a really sweet street cafe.

West End

769 Congress St—for a few years 769 served as headquarters for The Quimby Colony. 1935-2009 it was the home of the Roma restaurant. As part of the renovations to the Roma it now has a very nice commercial kitchen.

870 Congress St—there a first floor space for lease located in the Maine Medical Center parking garage almost across the street from La Bodega Latina.

260 Saint John St—the former Jan Mae restaurant in the Saint John strip mall is available.

237 Spring St—this store is located at the corner of Spring and Clark Street is for lease. It used to be the Spring Street Variety store.

Bayside

Amergian Bros on Pearl St—the sign for this neighborhood market is one of the last vestiges of a large Armenian community that thrived here during the early 20th century. Perhaps it’s time to see this historic location once again serve as a neighborhood market.

337 Cumberland Ave—the building that Maria’s Ristorante is located in is for sale. According to the listing the restaurant will relocate.

45 Marginal Way—the old Century Tire property is being turned into the Century Plaza strip mall. Two national franchises have already signed on, two spaces remain.

Midtown—the new plans for Midtown include 87,0000 sq ft of retail space located on the first floor of the buildings.

East End/Washington Ave/India St

Bay House—this new set of building near India Street has several ground floor retail spaces available.

229 Congress St—the space to the right of Ramen Suzukiya currently occupied by Goody G’s

249 Congress St—Lee Farrington did an excellent job of converting this former hair salon into a restaurant. It’s unfortunate that Figa closed but it would be even sadder to see this space go unused.

58 Washington Ave—this space was the former home of Falmouth Flower & Gifts.

Other

34 Vannah St—this space has housed a number of neighborhood markets over the past few years. It garnered some attention in 2014 when Hugo’s/Eventide briefly considered leasing it.

Pine Tree Shopping Mall—several different store fronts in the mall are available for lease including, presumably, the Full Belly Deli space.

305 Rte 1, Yarmouth—this building was recently Oscar’s New American and before that was home to the Sea Grass.

Some of the best spots out there aren’t officially on the market. If there’s a space you’re interested in, it never hurts to talk with the current occupant and see if you can work out a deal that they’re happy with. They move to another address and you get the perfect location for your business.

Give a shout out in the comments or email me at anestes@portlandfoodmap.com if there are any additional properties I’ve overlooked and I’ll add them to the list.

Last September I published a list of real estate for lease that could serve a future home for a new restaurant, coffee shop, market, or other local food business. Several of those listings have been picked up since then to become restaurants (Buck’s Naked, Blue Rooster, The North Point, Teriyaki Exchange and the future homes of Central Provisions and Vinland).

There are 20+ restaurants and other food-related businesses under development in Portland and new ventures are being announced with increasing frequency. The demand for vacant restaurants and retail space remains quite high. So I’ve put together this revised list to help out anyone who’s at that stage in getting their new venture off the ground.

If there are any good ones I’ve overlooked give a shout out in the comments or email me at anestes@portlandfoodmap.com and I’ll add them to the list.

Old Port

145 Commercial St—this spot is in the Cianchette Building. It’s adjacent to the new Starbucks that opened this summer.

321 Commercial St—the plans for the hotel under construction on Commercial Street includes a 7,000 sq ft space for a restaurant.

92 Exchange St—currently occupied by Wyler’s, several year’s ago this was the home of Della’s Catessen.

106 Exchange St—the former Oriental Table is available on upper Exchange Street.

339 Fore St—this spot in Boothby Square was briefly home to the Compass Rose Restaurant. It’s across the street from Dock Fore and adjacent to Vena’s Fizz House.

363 Fore St—currently occupied by Dunkin Donuts, this spot is on the corner of Fore and Market Streets.

432-436 Fore St—a block of about 6 buildings on the western end of Fore and Wharf Streets will be up for auction in late September.

Hyatt Place Hotel—a new hotel under construction on the corner of Fore and Union Streets. The plans for the first floor includes a 1,000 square foot retail space.

50 Middle St—there are plans are to develop the remainder of the lot that used to be the home of the Jordan Meat plant which will include 12,500 square feet of retail space. Eventide, Duckfat, Miccuci”s and Duckfat are all right in the immediate vicinity.

25 Preble St—PowerPay is leasing the part of the old Public Market. The space for lease used to house Dana Street’s excellent restaurant Scales.

115 Middle St—this office space is immediately adjacent to the old Bresca on Middle Street. It could potentially be renovated into a retail shop.

Bay House—this new building going up off India Street has several ground floor retail spaces available.

437 Congress St—for the past couple years this has been the location of Mike’s Rock ‘N’ Roll sandwich shop.

Portland Press Herald Building—the former Press Herald building at 390 Congress Street is being converted into a hotel. Plans include an 80-seat restaurant. Construction on this building is expected to begin in early 2014.

Milk & Market Streets—years ago this was Molly’s, a great spot for a business lunch in the Old Port. For the last several years it served as the showroom for a luxury condo project, but it would be great to see it brought back to life as an Old Port restaurant.

Art District

First floor of the Schwartz Building—the building at the intersection of High and Congress is still under renovation, but you can imagine that once it’s finished the corner space on the first floor could be a killer street cafe.

604 Congress St—this space was formerly a thrift store. It’s currently under construction along with the rest of the Schwatz Building. It’s immediately adjacent to the Down Town Lounge and across from the State Theater.

640 Congress St—this space is located just outside Longfellow Square. Until earlier thus year it was the location of a pawn shop. A longtime Portland resident told me it used to be a tea shop. I’ve heard an off-peninsula restaurant may be moving in here but the For Lease signs are still up.

658 Congress St—the former home of Apartment Finder, it is next to the Merchant Company.

660 Congress St—the Queen Anne style building was the first space Roxanne Quimby originally bought to house her artist colony. The last business to operate there was Zinnia’s Antiques. A developer is now working on a plan to renovate the building; a retail space is planned for the first floor.

West End

Pine & Brackett Streets—the latest blue prints for the apartment building planned for the corner of Pine and Brackett Streets show a restaurant space on the first floor.

26 Brackett St—has been the home of Blue Hydrangea, it’s across the street from Outliers Eatery and next to a new coffee shop called Omi’s that’s under construction.

769 Congress St—for a few years 769 served as headquarters for The Quimby Colony. 1935-2009 it was the home of the Roma restaurant. As part of the renovations to the Roma it now has a very nice commercial kitchen. Downstairs from the restaurant used to be the old Bramhall Pub.

870 Congress St—there a first floor space for lease located in the Maine Medical Center parking garage almost across the street from La Bodega Latina.

3 Deering Ave—until last year this was the home of Mr Sandwich & Mrs. Muffin. Street parking is less than ideal but it’s very near Maine Medical and could be successful as a lunch alternative for hospital employees as well as serve the Parkside neighborhood that it is a part of.

Other

Amergian Bros on Pearl St—the sign for this neighborhood market is one of the last vestiges of a large Armenian community that thrived here during the early 20th century. With the development of Bayside taking place perhaps it’s time to see this historic location once again serve as a neighborhood market.

249 Congress St—Lee Farrington did an excellent job of converting this former hair salon into a restaurant. It’s unfortunate that Figa closed but it would be even sadder to see this space go unused.

337 Cumberland Ave—the building that Maria’s Ristorante is located in is for sale. According to the listing the restaurant will be relocating.

646 Forest Ave—the former StarEast Cafe in Woodfords Corner is available. It’s adjacent to Bayou Kitchen. Parking in this intersection can be a bit challenging.

184 Saint John St——the Eagle’s Club is for sale. The building has a commercial kitchen.

Share a Space—there are plenty of restaurant’s in town that are only open for dinner and closed up for breakfast and lunch, or vice versa. There’s a great opportunity here to more fully utilize the commercial kitchens that already exist. Artemisia Cafe is a great example of this. The owner has leased out the space to a chef who runs a separate dinner restaurant there 4 nights a week.

Give a shout out in the comments or email me at anestes@portlandfoodmap.com if there are any additional properties I’ve overlooked and I’ll add them to the list.

Now that the number of new food ventures seems to be on an upswing again, the demand for vacant restaurants and retail spaces is sure to increase. I occasionally get contacted by entrepreneurs seeking advice on finding the right location for their new venture. So I’ve put together this list of the open spots I know of in the area to help out anyone reading this who’s at that stage in their business plan.

I’m sure there are spots I’ve overlooked. If you know of one, please post a comment or email me at anestes@portlandfoodmap.com to let me know where they are along any thoughts you have on what would be a good fit for that space and I’ll add them to the list.

Old Port

41 Wharf St—Rogue’s Gallery closed out their Portland Store earlier this year. The moody low ceiling space is tailor made for a high end yet divvy speakeasy.

50 Wharf St—Havana South consolidated 3 restaurant spaces (The Iguana, Cake, Chiang Mai) to create one of the larger restaurants in Portland. The landlord recently segmented off a part of it for a new barber shop but the rest of it is still available. Buck’s Naked BBQ is leasing this space to open their 3rd restaurant.

Dana and Wharf Streets—the last spot on Wharf Street before it intersects Dana St. The outside is nothing to look at but peak through the glass and you can see a pretty nice space inside with wide plank floors, exposed brick and good natural light. (see the photo at the end of this article)

Dana St—Simple Sandwich, Papaya King and before that Mama’s Diner have all called this home. It’s right next to Amigo’s, across the street from Vignola and well situate to feed the late night bar hopping crowds on Wharf and Fore Streets. The space has been leased and the windows are papered over.

275 Commercial St—this is just a door or two away from Bam Bam Bakery. The downside of this address is that it’s at the far edge of the retail part of Commercial so there’s less foot traffic. This space has been leased and will be the home of Muse Paintbar

154 Middle St—the former home Phone Source across from Anthony’s Italian Kitchen and next to The Corner General Store.

35 Silver St—right next to Crooked Mile Cafe and across Silver Street from The Regency Hotel.

Milk & Market Streets—years ago this was Molly’s, a great spot for a business lunch in the Old Port. For the last several years it’s been the showroom for a luxury condo project, but it would be great to see it reanimated as an Old Port restaurant.

10 Exchange St—for the few months this had been the home of Roma Pizza. The space is set back inside the building away all the great foot traffic on Exchange making it a more challenging spot to succeed in.

White Bunker a little after the Ocean Terminal—I heard a while ago that the City was prepping the white cinder block building for lease. It’s located just past the Ocean Gateway Terminal. Due to the Eastern Prom walking path there’s a lot of good foot traffic during the warmer months.

Public Market House—Y-Lime’s Gourmet had a small cupcake retail operation on the first floor but decided to return to just doing wholesale. K. Horton’s is using the space for the moment but presumably it’s available for lease if someone is interested.

45 york st—Velocipede recently went out of business and there space is now available. This address is just a couple doors down from Portland Pie Company and El Rayo.

Art District

517 Congress St—situated on the first floor of Mechanic Hall, this was the longtime home of Fotoshop.

566 Congress St—almost directly across the street from Speckled Ax, 566 used to be an art gallery.

569 Congress St—nestled between Speckled Ax and Pom’s and in the same block as 555, this would be a good location for another eatery. It had been a yarn shop so would need more of a build out than some of the other spots on this list.

593 Congress St—former location of The Kitchen, great location right at the intersection of High and Congress across the street from the Art Museum. In the time since The Kitchen operated here the space has been completely renovated but the skylights are still in place.

Hay Building—this small part of the Hay Building that isn’t used by Starbucks. It could easily be a newsstand or maybe a Winter home for a food cart.

85 Free St—this cavernous space was the home of the Winter Farmers’ Market during its first year of operation.

First floor of the Schwartz Building—the building at the intersection of High and Congress is still being renovated, but you can imagine that once it’s complete the space on the first floor could be a killer street cafe.

660 Congress St—the Queen Anne style building was the first space Roxanne Quimby bought to house her eponymous artist colony. The last business to operate there was Zinnia’s Antiques. A formal dining restaurant might be a good fit for the architecture but the building does look like it needs a lot of work to get up to fighting trim.

West End

3 Deering Ave—until recently this was the home of Mr Sandwich & Mrs. Muffin. Street parking is less than ideal but it’s very near Maine Medical and could be successful as a lunch alternative for hospital employees.

769 Congress St—for a few years 769 served as headquarters for The Quimby Colony. 1935-2009 it was the home of the Roma restaurant. As part of the renovations to the Roma it now has a very nice commercial kitchen. Downstairs from the restaurant used to be the old Bramhall Pub. The building is for sale.

Pine & Bracket Streets—the latest architectural plans for the apartment building going in at the corner of Pine and Brackett Streets show a restaurant space on the first floor (page 16).

Other

646 Forest Ave—the portion of StarEast Cafe that faces Forest Ave has been segmented off from the rest of the cafe and is now for lease.

337 Forest Ave—this is the former home of the Campus Bookstore. I could imagine it being a college hangout spot given that it’s directly across the street from campus.

Amergian Bros on Pearl St—the sign for this neighborhood market is one of the last vestiges of a large Armenian community that thrived here during the early 20th century. With the development of Bayside taking place perhaps it’s time to see this historic location once again serve as a neighborhood market.

171 Ocean St in South Portland—until they went out of business, this was the home of Pho Hanoi. According to a reader (see comment below) 171 Ocean is under development as a Sushi bar and so is no longer available.

Bathras Market in Willards Square—this is the culinary corner of South Portland. Scratch Bakery anchors the square along with Willard Scoops. A block away is David’s 388 and Sweet Marguerite’s chocolate. There’s a big neighborhood within walking distance.